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This week, Vice President Mike Pence hatched a plan to fix Obamcare with legislation that would allow states to opt-out of the law entirely. The tea party members of Congress, who are members of the so-called Freedom Caucus, have killed the new proposal, however.

In a report from The Guardian, Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) confessed that he feels like the conservative members keep moving the goal posts on Republicans attempting to pass a bill.

We built them a bridge, said Collins. All they have to do is walk across. He added, simply: The problem is with Freedom Caucus.

But Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) disagreed, saying that his caucus has voted over and over again to repeal Obamacare and that is all they are interested in doing. According to him, the Republicans like Pence and President Donald Trump who say that they want to keep parts of Obamacare have not only moved the goalposts, theyve taken out the stadium, chopped em up and burned them.

Former House Speaker John Boehner laughed off the idea that the GOP would be capable of doing anything to get rid of Obamacare.

Republicans never ever agree on health care, he said in Nov. 2016. Most of the framework of the Affordable Care Act thats going to be there.

Wednesday, right-wing groups attacked the moderate wing of the GOP for what they claim derailed the repeal of Obamacare.

Were looking at ways to get our message out, vice president of Heritage Action, Dan Holler told The Guardian. It was a hint that the political group might be running attack ads against moderate Republicans he believes are the obvious hurdle.

David McIntosh president of Club for Growth called them the left wing of the GOP, saying that they werent willing to compromise or keep their pledge to their voters to repeal Obamacare.

Collins called it nothing more than a fundraising ploy but moderates have refused to pass a bill that removes protections for those with pre-existing conditions and removes maternity care, mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Trumps administration told Republicans that they would like the bill by the end of the week.

Mark Meadows (R-NC), who chairs the Freedom Caucus, claimed that he was still hopeful a bill could come to the House floor.

I am still optimistic that everybody is working in good faith and hopefully it will happen this week. However, he remarked: Its important to set realistic expectations that passing a bill between now and Friday is still a Herculean task.

The rest is here:
Trumpcare 2.0 dead-on-arrival as Tea Party blocks Pence intervention - Raw Story

From Texas Standard:

Congressman Ted Poe (R-Humble) surprised observers last week when he announced he would leave the House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers whose opposition to the American Health Care Act (AHCA) put them at odds with President Donald Trump and House leadership.

The Freedom Caucus, which consists mainly of House members who identify with the Tea Party movement, opposed Obamacare, and most other initiatives of the previous administration, but had supported President Trump reliably until the AHCA debate.

Poe says the Freedom Caucus needs to evolve from an insurgency into a group that exercises power in a Congress that is now dominated by the Republican Party.

What has occurred, especially in the healthcare legislation [is that] the Freedom Caucus quit being the party of opposition to the previous administration, but became the party of opposition to the current Republican conference, he says.

On why the Freedom Caucus was formed:

The purpose of the Freedom Caucus was to offer conservative principles on legislation...to offer a strong conservative voice to the previous administrations legislation. Thats why it was started.

On whether the group remains relevant, with Republicans in control of Congress and the White House:

This was all part of the founding of the Freedom Caucus to have a seat at the table in the Republican Conference. And the Freedom Caucus now has a seat at the table in the Republican conference. But in this latest legislation [the group] became the party of opposition to the Republican party. And that prevented legislation from getting passed.

On why he announced his intention to leave the Freedom Caucus:

I thought it was important that my constituents, the people in Texas understand the reason I was leaving the Freedom Caucus. Because the Freedom Caucus had become the opposition party in the Republican party and was really stonewalling legislation at the time.

On whether splits among conservative House members could lead to a war within the Republican Party:

No, I dont think so. At the end of the day, we still have Obamacare, and thats the problem. Conservatives and Im still as strong a conservative as anybody here have to get legislation passed. We have to lead. Otherwise were stuck with the same situation...Were not going to get everything we want in legislation.

On whether the President and Congressional Republicans can get things accomplished with the Freedom Caucus opposing some initiatives:

Yes. I believe so...The Freedom Caucus now has a seat at the table in the Republican Conference. Its not being ignored anymore. And i think that is very important that the Freedom Caucus and other members of the Republican Party all get their input on legislation before we actually vote on it. And now thats occurring and I think the conservative principles of the Freedom Caucus will continue to have an impact on legislation.

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Rep. Ted Poe Says The Freedom Caucus Needs To Focus On Passing Legislation - KUT

Fine china, along with animal-themed tea pots, graced the tables at The Venue in St. Amant.

And Mrs. Potts, the teapot from "Beauty and The Beast," would have been proud of the tea party 7-year-old cancer survivor Lily Raffray hosted Sunday to raise money for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital.

Lily was diagnosed with Stage 1 Hodgkin lymphoma at the start of kindergarten when she was 5 years old. She received chemotherapy from both St. Jude and its Baton Rouge affiliate, Our Lady of the Lake.

Raffrays family started Team Lily Raffray to raise funds for St. Jude. The family helped raise money last year by participating in the St. Jude Half Marathon. To date, the team has raised nearly $18,000.

Lilys treatment was short, compared to others, said Lilys mother, Juliet Raffray. Eight cycles of chemo, but we wanted to give back to St. Jude. Any parent that goes through this wants to help out.

Lilys grandmother, Vanessa Babin, said Lily helped come up with the tea party idea.

We would have our own tea parties with just Lily and myself, Babin said. Then, Lily wanted to invite family and friends to the tea parties. After her diagnosis and treatment, we thought a tea party would be a great fundraiser because Lily likes tea parties.

Each year, the tea party has been held attendance has increased, Juliet Raffray said. This years attendance sold out at 158 people.

Its fun to get dressed up, Lily said. I really like having the tea party and having lots of people come.

The event also included coloring pages for the girls in attendance, a photo booth, silent auction and a raffle for an LSU quilt.

Lisa Bonin, of Prairieville, brought her daughter 1- year-old Molly.

Its a different kind of fundraiser. Its fun to see all the dresses, Bonin said.

Linda Mayers, who represented her sorority, Beta Eta, sold raffle tickets for the quilt made by Joy Mahaffery.

I just love the fact that its a tea party, Mayers said. All the dressing up is really nice. It gives the little girls a chance to be little girls and attend a real tea party.

The menu included chicken salad sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, scones, teacakes, muffins, cupcakes and petits fours. Babin said the food and drinks were donated by local businesses.

Megan Starkey attended with 2-year-old daughter Grace.

Lily is a student at the school I teach, St. Amant Primary, Starkey said. Its wonderful to see the community come together. We have pretend tea parties at home, so a real one is a lot of fun.

Kristie Riviere, brought her daughters, Anna, 5 and Addison, 4.

We had fun picking out the bows and putting on makeup, Riviere said. We were going to wear hats, but decided to go with bows instead.

Jessie Weber, who donned a hat, had tea with daughters Kate, 4, and Abbey, 3.

Its a wonderful organization and a great opportunity to get out and spend time with our daughters, Weber said.

Read this article:
St. Amant tea party raises money for cancer research - The Advocate

Mentone

Niger Ennis to address Tea Party Patriots via Skype

Niger Ennis, executive director of TeaParty.net and national spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality, will speak via Skype when the Redlands Tea Party Patriots meet 7 p.m. April 6 at Mill Creek Cattle Co., 1874 Mentone Blvd., Mentone.

Ennis has been a commentator on MSNBC and also appears on Fox News.

Also speaking is Sean Flynn, an associate professor of economics at Scripps College and author of Economics for Dummies. He will speak on health care.

In 2016, Flynn ran as a Republican and lost in the race for the congressional district that includes Redlands and much of the Inland Empire.

The meeting is free and open to the public. Doors open for no-host dinner at 5:30 p.m.

Source: Redlands Tea Party Patriots

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Redlands Tea Party Patriots to hear Niger Ennis of TeaParty.net April 6 - Redlands Daily Facts

The Texas Tea Party will not be silent.

But in a letter made available to Conservative Review, Lone Star state Tea Party organizations make clear that the Republican Party base in the highly consequential state of Texas stands with the Freedom Caucus in opposition to RINOcare. The letter was signed by over 90 conservative grassroots leaders and state GOP officials, and will be sent to President Trump Monday.

To our dismay, the repeal and replace plan put forward by U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) did nothing to address the core regulatory infrastructure of Obamacare, which means that American families would still see health care costs continue to rise until at least 2026, the letter reads. This is unacceptable.

Public support for the American Health Care Act placed around 17 percent, per Quinnipiac polls. The Freedom Caucus membersarguetheir push for more conservative amendments saved the Republican Party from political disaster. According to the leader of the organization that put the letter together, those members are exactly right.

The Freedom Caucus is doing exactly what their supporters and their constituents sent them to Washington to do, JoAnn Fleming told Conservative Review. The Ryancare bill did not do what the Republicans promised they would do.

Fleming is the Executive Director ofGrassroots America We the People, a political action committee that is the largest constitutional conservative citizen organization in East Texas and one of the largest in Texas. A volunteer conservative activist in Texas for over 25 years, Fleming also serves as the three-term chairman of the Texas Legislatures TEA Party Caucus Advisory Committee, Chairman of Lt. Governor Dan Patricks Grassroots Advisory Board, and an adviser to the newly formed Freedom Caucus of the Texas state legislature.

Frankly, the people that I work with in Texas, all these grassroots leaders on this letter they worked their tails off to send Republicans to Washington and to offices at every level of government to stand strong behind conservative, limited government, constitutional conservative principles, Fleming said.

In the eyes of these activists, Fleming explained, the GOP plan was a betrayal.

If you go back and look at the 60 times there was a bill that fully repealed Obamacare, why now is that not the right kind of bill? What this does is it just peels back the faade. What this says to grassroots conservatives in Texas is, You really didnt mean it to begin with. You knew President Obama would veto any repeal that you sent to him, and so it was all political theater.

Opposition to RINOcare wasexactly what voters wantedfrom their elected representatives. The letter takes pains to drive that point home to the president.

With a bad take it or leave it bill on the table, the Freedom Caucus rightly believed they had a responsibility to protect both the GOP and the Trump Administration from the political fallout that would surely come in 2018 and 2020 when angry voters realized their healthcare costs did not go down and health care access did not improve. The Freedom Caucus had the promises they made back home and the long-term good of the American people on their minds and in their hearts when they opposed the AHCA.

President Trumps pledge to fight the Freedom Caucus is baffling for these Tea Party activists.

Trump had longpositioned himselfas an ally of the Tea Party. And so, according to JoAnn Fleming, this letter intends to make clear exactly where one of the Republican Partys most organized and enthusiastic voter base stands.

The point of this is were trying to say, We dont agree with you, Mr. President, on the approach youre taking toward the Freedom Caucus and toward the promises we intend to hold the GOP to. They made a promise that they were going to repeal Obamacare, and that means take out all of the big government structure that was there, the mandates, and to get us back to a patient-centered, free-market based approach to health care. This bill did not do any of that and what we believe is that it would have driven up costs, premiums.

The Tea Party groups of Texas urge Trump to work with the HFC toactuallydrain the swamp.

We believe that hes not going to be able to drain any Washington, D.C., swamp without the support and help of conservatives, Fleming told CR. Thats just a given.

All signs point toward another attempt at Obamacare repealhappening soonerrather than later. Over the weekend, President Trump tweeted an attack on the Fake News media for suggesting that attempts at repeal were dead.

Anybody (especially Fake News media) who thinks that Repeal & Replace of ObamaCare is dead does not know the love and strength in R Party!

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2017

Some liberal Republicans have signaled theyd rather work with Democrats than join with the Freedom Caucus to come up with a conservative plan. The Texan Tea Party is not willing to follow President Trump down that path.

Unfortunately, the president will be on the opposite side of many conservative grassroots leaders on the ground, in the trenches every single day, should he continue to oppose the Freedom Caucus, Fleming said.

This is what we do. We try to advance liberty through conservative principles. Its not about the person. Its not about a political icon. It is about principle for us.

The dedicated hard work of the Tea Party base here in Texas, as well as all across the nation, has bestowed Republicans with historic majorities in Congress and placed the presidency in their hands. If the GOP believes Tea Party activists will go away or blindly trust the Republicans in control, they are mistaken.

I have given up the best part of my life to do this, and Im not about to change. I dont do this because I dont have anything else that I could do. I gave up a career in business to do this, and I do it because its the right thing to do, said Fleming.

Anything that makes it harder for my grassroots colleagues to do what they do in their own communities just kind of sets my teeth on edge, Fleming said. Thats where this letter came from.

Is Paul Ryan seriously blaming CONSERVATIVES for his health care bill getting axed? Likely story.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify that Tea Party leaders and Texas GOP party officials have signed onto the letter.

Read the rest here:
Texas Tea Party groups send a clear message to President Trump: 'the Freedom Caucus is not the problem' - Conservative Review